Galician rider still awaiting a decision on positive test for hydroxyethyl starch at Vuelta a Espana
The 2011 roster for the Vacansoleil-DCM includes the name of Vuelta runner-up Ezequiel Mosquera.
When applying for ProTeam status, which the team just received, Mosquera's name was not on the roster, but now, the official announcement of next year's squad does in fact include the rider who is awaiting a ruling for a positive test for hydroxyethyl at this fall's Vuelta a Espana.
Mosquera's fate is still very much in limbo, as he waits for a ruling from WADA. A report from Marca, earlier in November, indicated that the skies might be clearing, but that was followed almost immediately by the news that that was not in fact true.
"WADA is not responsible for the management of doping control results. These reports are therefore inaccurate. As with any case under the World Anti-Doping Code, WADA will review the decision once issued," said WADA to VeloNation following the Marca article.
Vacansoleil's inclusion of Mosquera on their 2011 roster is intriguing in that, it seems highly unlikely that the Galician can escape sanction since he did in fact test positive for hydroxyethyl starch, which Shane Stokes notes in an earlier VeloNation piece, "is judged to be part of the classification of diuretics and other masking agents. Under section S5, it clearly states that these are prohibited...In the rare case that a rider has a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) permitting the use of such substances...There have been no indications that Mosquera had a TUE for hydroxyethyl starch."
It will be interesting to see what comes of Mosquera's case in the coming weeks, but even without the climbing ace's talents, the squad looks quite strong heading into the new season with ProTeam status safely netted at long last.
The returning riders from Vacansoleil: Johnny Hoogerland, Jens Mouris, Lieuwen Westra, Wout Poels, Rob Ruygh, Joost van Leijen, Gorik Gardeyn, Björn Leukemans, Frederik Veuchelen, Marco Marcato, Matteo Carrara, Alberto Ongarato, Riccardo Ricco, Borut Bozic, Sergey Lagutin, Romain Feillu, and Michal Golas.
New signings: Martin Keizer, Pim Ligthart, Stijn Devolder, Thomas de Gendt, Ruslan Pidgornyy, Maxim Belkov, Mirko Selvaggi, and of course, Ezequiel Mosquera.